Honoring those who have served

This month, on the November 11 federal holiday, we will honor military veterans. In bi-national Point Roberts, this date has twin names. Our modern interpretations of the day evolve out of the original Armistice Day, which commemorates the end of World War I. In 1954, Congress changed the name of the date in the U.S. to Veteran’s Day, which honors all military veterans. Member states of the British Commonwealth adopted the name Remembrance Day in 1931, honoring armed forces members who died in the line of duty.

During World War II, wartime rationing was a reality of life in Point Roberts during the war years. Locals gathered in the grange hall on Gulf Road to assemble care packages for the 18 local men in the war effort. One local man, who split his time in Anacortes, where he is commemorated, did not return home.

The border at Point Roberts remained open during World War II, but traffic was light as few Canadians used their gas rations to travel all the way out to Point Roberts. In the latter part of the war, one of the famous Japanese fire balloons landed on the beach at Point Roberts.

Going north from Maple Beach, the shoreline eventually reaches Boundary Bay Airport at the north end of the bay. This airport was founded as Royal Canadian Air Force Station Boundary Bay during World War II as a site to train aircrew.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor – this December is the 80th anniversary – the west coast was perceived as vulnerable to attack, and the air station transformed to a fighter squadron to protect Vancouver. During the war, the skies over Point Roberts were busy with activity, and several planes crashed at Point Roberts.

One notable crash commemorated in the Point Roberts History Center is the Consolidated Liberator, a plane of the Royal Canadian Air Force which crashed on January 10, 1945.

During a night bombing exercise over Boundary Bay, an explosion in the bomb bay caused all four engines to simultaneously stop. The plane descended over the peninsula and crashed just off the Gulf Road pier.

Four crewmembers were able to parachute to safety and were treated by locals on the Point, but three others perished in the crash. After the plane’s heater was identified as a likely cause, they were restricted on these planes for the rest of the winter.

It is the hope of the Point Roberts Historical Society that these anecdotes are useful this November 11 in remembering those who have served.